It is neither guitar nor cello, but is a hybrid of the two, fretted and tuned like the former, and bowed like the latter, and while only in vogue in the 1830s, but has a unique place in musical history. Also known as the guitar violoncello, and very much like a bass viol, it was Invented in 1823 by the Viennese instrument luthiers Johann Georg Stauffer and Peter Teufelsdorfer, it fashionable for a decade or so, but parts were generally overtaken by the non-fretted cello, and sometimes the viola and with music transcribed for those instruments. However, anyone familiar with the standard guitar tuning of E–A–d–g–b–e and able to pluck strings and do little bowing would be able to instantly play it. The body of the instrument is actually not so much like the cello, more like that of a large medieval fiddle.
There are very few pieces written specially for the arpeggione, and the best known is the sonata with piano accompaniment by Franz Schubert. Here is some it played by Nicolas Deletaille in 2012:
The arpeggione is so rarely played that this instead gives us an opportunity to see some converse examples – guitarists bowing their instrument. Often though the sound is very different to that of the classical, sometimes sounding fabulous, but other times a pretentious car crash. Here are a few examples. Led Zeppelin’s Jimmy Page bowed his guitar on several songs, including Dazed and Confused:
Roger Waters bowed his bass guitar a couple or more tracks on Pink Floyd’s Piper At the Gates Of Dawn, including Lucifer Sam:
Radiohead’s Jonny Greenwood bows his guitar in the second half of live performances of Burn The Witch:
Sigur Rós’s Jónsi is an arch guitar bowist, frequently using this technique to gain a stormy, atmosopheric effect here in a live setting:
And in a more intimate, demonstrative one:
Sonic Youth’s Lee Ronaldo bowed his guitar on the song Hey Joni, but in this spectacular clip he doesn’t so much bow it but hit it with a stick before it flies around the room on a wire to increase and experiment with the feedback:
And finally, a wonderful parody of this sort of thing, from the timeless This Is Spinal Tap, in which Nigel Tufnel’s live solo includes bowing the guitar with an actual violin…
Can you think of any more examples of the arpeggione being played, or alternatively the guitar being bowed? Feel free to share any examples in songs, instrumentals, on albums, film, art or other contexts in comments below.
You can also get in touch the contact page, and also visit us on social media: Song Bar Twitter, Song Bar Facebook. Song Bar YouTube. and Song Bar Instagram. Please subscribe, follow and share. New to comment? It is quick and easy. You just need to login to Disqus once. All is explained in About/FAQs ...